Chapter 1241: This is impossible!

In the astonished gazes of everyone, Han Wuxian's figure was completely swallowed into that absolute darkness. The next moment, the spatial entrance, as if it had never appeared, instantly closed and vanished. Only the ancient runes on the ice wall, whose light rapidly dimmed and even showed more cracks, remained, along with the Tian Gong Sect members standing frozen on the spot, stunned and unsettled.

On the ice plain, the cold wind still howled, as if the heart-pounding scene just now had been merely an illusion.

Forgotten Sand, deep underground.

Yan Buji's tightly closed eyes slowly opened, a flicker of light that everything was under his control flashing in his pupils. On the three-dimensional star map before him, the light point representing Han Wuxian had disappeared from the extreme north position and appeared at another isolated point wrapped in countless twisted, deathly still runes—that point was the mapping of the Eternal Silence Corridor on his star chart coordinates.

"Welcome into the net, Han Wuxian." His thoughts were calm and waveless, carrying an indifferent air of controlling fate. "Enjoy well, I have prepared for you… the Ultimate Silence Extinction. Your Dao, your will, your everything will ultimately become the cornerstone of my Dao's perfection."

He closed his eyes again, no longer paying attention. The trap had been triggered, the prey caught. All that remained was to wait for the Eternal Silence Corridor to slowly digest this abundant feast. No one outside could know or perceive; they would only think that the Returning to Void Dao Lord Han Wuxian had failed in exploring ancient relics and perished on the northern ice plain.

When that irresistible suction disappeared, Han Wuxian realized he was not in any physical space. In all directions, there was nothing. No light, no darkness, no sound, no matter, and even no clear concept of "space" and "time". He seemed to float in an absolute void, even his sense of self began to blur.

What's more terrifying, he felt his connection with the Returning to Void Great Dao being assimilated by some power. Not severed, but as if the Returning to Void artistic conception emanating from himself was merging into this absolute "Silence Extinction", becoming part of it and in turn reinforcing the stability of this region.

"Hmph, want to assimilate my Dao?" Han Wuxian immediately retracted all outward power, tightly locking the chaotic Returning to Void qi and his will within himself, like clinging to the sole piece of driftwood in a raging storm. He dared not lightly use Returning to Void Power, for each use felt like charging this trap.

But absolute stillness is equally dangerous. In this void where even the flow of time cannot be perceived, feelings of loneliness, emptiness, and doubt about the meaning of one's existence surge like tides, constantly striking his Dao Heart. This is an attack aimed directly at the original mind, more perilous than any divine ability or technique.

He tried to sense the outside world; his divine sense was like a stone sunk in the sea, even the faint link to that sealed origin was completely severed. This place is a true absolute region.

"Yan Buji… indeed good at calculation." Han Wuxian's heart turned cold. This trap did not rely on brute force to imprison and kill, but utilized the nature of his own Great Dao to construct a targeted environment, where acting would bring blame and not acting would lead to self-collapse.

He forced himself to calm down, his chaotic eyes slowly scanning in the absolute darkness—although there was nothing to "watch". He began to take his will as the core, carefully perceiving the composition of this Eternal Silence Corridor.

"It is not true 'nothing', but rather a concrete manifestation of some… ultimate 'Silence Extinction' law's domain." He soon noticed a clue. This space is not empty; it is filled with a certain inert force representing the ultimate 'termination' law. It does not actively attack, merely exists, and constantly 'invites' any existence that falls into it to merge into this eternal stillness.

He attempted to circulate the Source Star Core; that transmigrated origin object emitted a faint clear glow, protecting the last trace of lucidity in his spirit platform, resisting the all-pervasive 'assimilation' intent.

Time here lost its meaning. It could be an instant, or it could be ten thousand years.

Han Wuxian sat like an old monk entering meditation, motionless. His consciousness in absolute silence became extraordinarily keen, beginning to introspect and reflect on his Returning to Void Great Dao.

"My Returning to Void is will-led termination, it is 'I' who wants it to end…"

"And this Silence Extinction here is without 'I', it is a natural 'termination'…"

"Yan Buji wants me here, either be forced to merge into this 'without I' Silence Extinction, Dao and soul scatter; or in resistance, overusing Returning to Void Power accelerates my own assimilation…"

He understood the trap's viciousness. This is a two-way dead end.

But, the Great Dao fifty, Heavenly Derivation forty-nine, man escapes one. In desperate circumstances, vitality often lies hidden.

In the extreme silence and opposition, Han Wuxian's understanding of his "self Returning to Void" instead began to precipitate and sublimate. Previously, he emphasized more the control of "self" over "Returning to Void". But here, facing this "without I" Silence Extinction, he started to think: between "self" and "Returning to Void", is there yet another kind of relationship?

"Returning to Void is 'end', is 'nothing'. While 'I' is 'exist', is 'have'."

"To govern 'nothing' with 'existence' is to control. Yet 'existence' arises from 'nothing', 'termination' is also another face of 'origin'…"

"My will is not merely used as a 'rein' to drive termination; it itself is also part of this life-death cycle…"

A brand-new thought, like a flash of lightning cutting through darkness, illuminated his sea of consciousness!

He no longer tried to "resist" this Eternal Silence, nor to "control" it. He began to attempt, using his will to "understand" it, to "resonate" with it, even…… to "merge" with it, but not being assimilated, instead maintaining the independence of his will, to experience the true meaning of this "without I" Silence Extinction.

He carefully extended a thread of purest will outward, no longer attaching any Returning to Void Power, like a humble apprentice lightly touching the all-pervading Silence Extinction law around.

Initially, that Silence Extinction law was like cold dead water, with no response. But Han Wuxian had ample patience; his will was pure and firm, without any aggression, merely quietly feeling and understanding.

Gradually, he seemed to "hear" the silent "rhythm" of this dead realm, that is the most primitive "stillness" after all things terminate. He felt what it contained was not malice, but an icy, absolute "order"—belonging to the "termination" order.

His will began to produce an extremely subtle resonance with this "order". He no longer felt himself as an "alien" or "prisoner" of this realm, but rather as a unique "note" in this grand "termination symphony". He maintained his own tone, yet could harmoniously coexist with the whole symphony.

At that very moment, the Eternal Silence Corridor's perfect "Silence Extinction" field, due to Han Wuxian's integration and resonance as an independent "anomaly", produced an extremely fine, almost nonexistent "ripple".

Forgotten Sand, deep underground.

Yan Buji, who had been as still as a rock, his eyebrows twitched violently! He suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils first showing an expression of disbelief!

In his perception, that which should have been like a black hole steadily swallowing and digesting Han Wuxian's "Eternal Silence Corridor", its internal flawless Silence Extinction conception, actually displayed a trace of extreme minuteness of "discord"! Like on an absolutely smooth mirror surface, a scratch appeared that only a microscope could see!

This is impossible!